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Revolution in Ireland continued
We now come to the last question: why the numerous militant and revolutionary groups that exist in Ireland today have failed, so far, to bring the revolution in Ireland to victory? To answer that question we need to pose the question of the nature of revolution in Ireland today. Many of the Irish nationalist organizations believe that the root of the evil are the English. If the English army is to depart from the island, then the 6 counties of Northern Ireland will be re-united with the rest of the island, and the whole country will be happy. In reality, behind the nationalist oppression of the Irish lies the economic and social oppression which an imperialism imparts on its colonies. One of the first to see that connection was James Fintan Lalor (1807-1849), an Irish revolutionary and a journalist. He pointed out that the slogan “Ireland for the Irish” means that land must be returned to the peasants, and hence the English landlordism must be destroyed. Destruction of the English landlordism meant destruction of the English social system, which in that time was already capitalist. The land, Lalor advocated, should be transfered into the possession of the people as a whole and tilled by the people as a whole. James Lalor has influenced several Irish nationalists and revolutionaries, and among them the most prominent Marxist James Connoly (1868-1916) , one of the leaders of the 1916 rising. James Connoly has founded the first Marxist party in Ireland in 1896, the Irish Socialist Republican Party. Its goal was an "Establishment of AN IRISH SOCIALIST REPUBLIC based upon the public ownership by the Irish people of the land, and instruments of production, distribution and exchange." Specificaly, points of its program called for: Nationalisation of railways and canals. Abolition of private banks and money-lending institutions and establishments of state banks, under popularly elected boards of directors, issuing loans at cost. Establishment at public expense of rural depots for the most improved agricultural machinery, to be lent out to the agricultural population at a rent covering cost and management alone, etc. And so we see that it is already socialist revolution which is on the order of the day in Ireland. All other "revolutions" meant in reality a compromise with the English social system (capitalism). This is exactly what happened during the Anglo-Irish war of 1919-1921, which was fought initially over the issue of independence for Ireland. The treaty concluding the war split the island into 2 parts, the North, more industrially developed and dominated by the pro-English majority, and the rest of the island, mostly agricultural and dominated by the Nationalist and Catholic people. According to the book "History of Ireland" (Russ.), the treaty of 1921 was a result of compromise between the weakened English bourgeoisie and the Irish nationalist bourgeois leaders, who were in a hurry to suppress the anti-imperialist war, as it was in a danger of becoming a revolution against the foundations of a capitalist system. The more radical part of the Irish militants did not agree with the terms of the Treaty and continued to fight the "Free State of Ireland" (see the Irish civil war ). These became called the Republicans and their fighting force the Irish Republican Army (IRA). The Free State was backed by the large peasant holders, and the whole of the English army, while the Republicans were backed by the small peasant holders. The former won the day. However, to illustrate the nature of the fighting - what it was for - let's hear Liam Mellows, an IRA commandant-general. Before being shot by the "Freestaters" in prison, he wrote that Free State means capitalism, industrialism, and the British Empire. The Republic means the workers and labor. The winners in the Irish civil war was the party of the large and middle bourgeoisie, Cummann na nGaedheal , presided by W.T. Cosgrave. Having entered the League of Nations in 1923, the Irish Free State, in the sphere of foreign policy, followed meekly in line with the British imperialism. Meanwhile, the official leadership of IRA, which preserved its existence after defeat in the Irish civil war, distanced itself from socialist struggle, limiting itself to demands for national unification. For example, in 1933 all members of the IRA were refused the right to express themselves on social and economic issues. The Irish revolution has remained unfinished. There was some economic development, Ireland has started on the road of becoming an industrial economy, but this was at a very slow pace. To this day, Ireland remains one of the most depressed regions of Europe, one of the most economically backward. The national liberation war against the English cannot be completed without a socialist revolution. And a socialist revolution in Ireland cannot succeed without a global anti-imperialist revolution. Category:International socialist organizations